Moral Voices: Wrongful Convictions is an exciting new Hillel initiative that will focus on a different issue of universal moral importance each year. This year's inaugural topic is wrongful convictions within the criminal justice system. We will explore the issue from both a Jewish and universal perspective and we will have the opportunity to hear from a variety of voices that are involved in this oft-ignored topic.

Past Events

Thursday, April 4 (7 pm, Friedman Auditorium), "Conviction", the true story of Bristol, RI's Betty Ann Waters, who fought for two decades to prove her brother Kenny's innocence, putting herself through college and law school in the process. Attendees heard directly from this inspirational moral voice, Betty Ann Waters, on Wednesday, April 10 (7 pm, Friedman Auditorium) as she delivered the inaugural Moral Voices keynote address.

Betty Anne Waters was 29 years old when her brother Kenny Waters was convicted of a murder in Ayer, Massachusetts. He swore he was innocent and Betty Anne vowed to do everything she could to help overturn his wrongful conviction. For two decades, she fought for justice in Kenny’s case, putting herself through college and law school in her pursuit. Finally, in 2000 Betty Anne and the Innocence Project obtained access to DNA testing on evidence from the crime scene in Kenny’s case. The results proved his innocence and led to Kenny’s release in March of 2001. Today, Betty Anne lives in Bristol, Rhode Island, and works as the general manager of a pub. She works to help the Innocence Project spread the word about wrongful conviction by speaking out about her story, which was the inspiration for the 2010 film "Conviction".

In March, Brown's Associate Chaplains Rabbi Mordechai Rackover and Dave Coolidge led an exciting two-part series exploring how the Jewish and Muslim faiths approach the topic of wrongful convictions and the criminal justice system. 


In November, Trink Schwartz P'15, a prison chaplain in New Jersey, shared her first-hand perspective on the criminal justice system: current problems, needed reforms, the role of theology, and stories from her work in a county jail in New Jersey. 

The first event was a talk by Dennis Maher. Maher was wrongfully convicted of rape in Massachusetts and served 19 years in jail before his conviction was overturned. He spoke about his experience and issues with our current criminal justice system. You can read more about Maher's story on the website for the Innocence Project. ​

Recently we also had a Brunch and Learn with Trink Schwartz, a prison chaplain in New Jersey who shared stories from her work around the topic of wrongful convictions and coerced testimony.